The next few days turned into a blur as the dance loomed closer and Friday night with Jacob even more so. I spend my afternoons with my Mum planning out the rest of my outfit for the dance. Since I didn't buy any shoes or accessories for the dance she came home late Wednesday night from Port Angeles with a bag of shoes and jewellery. She was more inspired by my dress then I was. I spent the evenings alternating between talking to Bella and Jacob on the phone. I finally got around to admitting to Bella that I was going to the movies with Jacob. I didn't know why I felt hesitant to tell her since technically she didn't love Jacob just yet. But the idea that she is suppose to love him and he her burned into my brain making me feel ill each time I thought about it. Bella had, of course, been thrilled that I was getting on with Jake. She asked if it was anything more than friendship but didn't pry when I told her it was too early to tell. She blushed deeply when I asked her about Edward and answered honestly, "I really like him." I found myself feeling jealous of her ability to fall while I found myself clinging desperately to the edges; afraid.
When Friday came around I found myself looking constantly at my watch. So much so that even Angela, who was usually content not to pry, asked if I was alright. When I got home I knew that I only had limited time to get dressed but I still changed my outfit three times and spent too long in front of the mirror. I eventually decided on a small amount of make-up just mascara and a small amount of pink blush and I pulled my hair back into a lose ponytail. I was too nervous to do anything else with it. The cloud cover was once again covering the sky so I settled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black long sleeved skivvy.
"You look great. Have a nice time," Mum winked at me on my way out. It was half past three by the time I drove into Jacob's drive. He was sitting on the front steps waiting for me patiently. His face lit up when he saw me drive down towards the house. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that complimented his golden skin. His long hair was pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck.
"You're late," he told me as he got into the car and I felt myself blush deeply. I didn't know what to say. The air between us seemed to have changed. It was as if it was now filled with static electricity.
"Sorry," I apologised. "I got caught up at school." That was a lie but I decided that it was better than saying that I had spent half an hour getting ready. Even now it seemed ridiculous.
Jacob instantly launched into a story about school and because it had my mum mentioned in it several times I had to listen carefully. I found myself feeling disappointed that the trip to Port Angeles went so quickly as the quaint building came into view. Things were pleasantly comfortable with Jacob. It made me wonder why I was ever nervous about hanging out with him at all. And I was beginning to think I was mad for ever thinking that maybe this was something more than the other times we had spoken and hung out this week.
The movie we decided to see was a crime/action movie. I didn't think it was going to be that great but Jacob saw the car on the poster and was convinced it was going to be great. As we sat down in the cinema I suddenly became aware of my limbs. I moved my arms from the arm rest to my lap and back again. Jacob had claimed the arm rest on his side. The intangible electricity that had appeared in the car was once again between us. But I didn't know whether or not Jacob felt it too. Sometimes I got the feeling that he was looking over at me but every time I let myself peek at him he was watching the movie intently. I told myself several times that I was crazy. You know his future, I told myself sternly and each time I did the image of him with Bella would burn into my brain and hurt me somewhere in the region of my stomach. He will imprint on her daughter. I was being particularly mean to myself now and I didn't even know why. I felt my eyes stinging.
After the movie I was quite while Jacob chatted about the movie none stop. Apparently the cars in it were fantastic but I didn't notice. I felt my ecstatic mood begin to peel away to make room for my ever-present bad mood. I didn't even know what was upsetting me. How did I expect tonight to go any differently to how it was going?
"I would kill for some ice-cream," Jacob told me as we walked past an ice-creamery. The way he said it – with a tone that implied so much hunger he really could kill for one – made me crack up and suddenly the clouds that were surrounding me seemed to vanish. I didn't know what I was worrying about. Just be here. I thought, mimicking the serene tone that Eleanor always used. My own mood swings were giving me whiplash.
I ordered a vanilla sundae and Jacob ordered a double chocolate sundae.
"Vanilla isn't even a flavour," he told me as he finished what I couldn't eat. He then wiped my cheek with a napkin where I apparently had some ice cream. The amount of tenderness he used even with his large clumsy hands surprised me.
"So do you want to hang out tomorrow?" he asked me, his dark eyes were twinkling.
"Didn't you have friends before I came along?" I grinned and he chuckled throatily.
"Are you sick of me?"
"No. Are you sick of me?"
"Not yet," he let his sentence hang in the air and I feigned hurt.
"I told you that I have that dance thing tomorrow."
"The one you don't want to go to?"
"That's the one,"
"Does the dance go all day?" he asked, his brow creased like he was thinking but I could tell from his tone he was joking.
"No but I may spend a lot of the afternoon getting ready,"
"So I can help you get ready," he said eagerly and I burst into laughter.
"Do you have much experience in makeup application?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a confession you want to make Jacob?"
"Well I do have two older sisters who had to practice on someone," he joked. His grin was wider now though.
"So I'll come over to your house because I think that Billy is going to go and visit Charlie."
I nodded slowly, "Don't you want to visit Bella?" I asked as casually as I could.
"Bella?" Jacob looked surprised. "Not really. I saw her the other day."
I choked and then tried unsuccessfully at concealing as a couch. Jacob just looked confused.
"So I guess I will see you in the morning. But now I better get you home before your curfew." I laughed as he jumped up and followed me back to my car. He complained the whole way that even though he was younger than me he was more mature. This made me laugh. The chatter was lighter again and I found myself feel drowsy and content as I drove. I knew while it was happening that this wasn't a good feeling to be having while you were at the wheel of a car but I couldn't fight it off. It felt like every time I blinked my eyes opened just that little bit less. I could hear Jacob talking but I couldn't focus on anything he was saying. It was just warm, rough humming in my ears.
Suddenly I heard Jake yell in fright and the wheel was pulled hard to the left. I jolted back into full consciousness. I felt my ears burning with embarrassment.
"Leighton! Please pull over!" Jacob half yelled and half demanded. I sheepishly drove the car off the road. "Did you just fall asleep at the wheel?" he asked, his voice was shaking slightly.
"No," I told him. It was true. If I had fallen asleep I would have ended up back in Texas for a whole day. Jacob got out of the car, walked around to the driver's side and opened the door.
"Shove over," he told me, and I thought about complaining but instead I just moved over into the passenger seat.
"You don't have a permit," I argued from the passenger seat.
"I'd rather get fined then be in a crash," he told me and the words stung.
"Sorry," I mumbled but his smell was already filling up the cab and making me drowsy.
"Don't worry about it." He told me seriously. "You should have just told me you were tired and I would have driven. I told you it was a bad idea to keep you out past your bedtime." He chuckled.
"So I can either sleep at your house or you can sleep over mine," he told me casually and I was too tired to even ask him what he was talking about.
"Yours," I said groggily and he grinned. "I like Billy better," he laughed throatily.
The next morning when I woke up in Forks the bedroom was unfamiliar. But instead of being confused the forest smell gave it away. I was at Jacob's house. Apparently he was serious about his sleep over proposition. As if on cue Jacob walked into the room. He was wearing long sweat pants and a jumper.
"Morning," he told me smirking.
"You weren't joking about the sleep over," I commented as I rolled over and snuggled into the doona. I inhaled deeply; it smelled slightly like a campfire.
"Well I couldn't let you drive yourself home," he told me seriously. "So I called your mum last night and she called here this morning. She's expecting us back at any minute so you can start getting ready for this dance. So get out of bed." He prodded at my side playfully.
"Get ready for the dance?" I asked, "What time is it?"
"One o'clock," Jacobs shrugged. "I thought you were in a coma there for while. You must have been exhausted."
I gasped in shock. One o'clock? I had slept for most of the day. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while." I said sheepishly as I got out of bed. I didn't even want to look at my reflection. I haven't slept in months, I thought wryly.
"Let's get going before your mum gives me detention- again" joked Jacob as he headed towards my car. We passed Billy on the way out. He looked at me with a deep frown on his face. I wondered for a second what he was thinking until I realised that it was very probable that Sam he told the elders what I had said to him. I cursed myself for my rashness.
I smiled widely at Billy who didn't look up from his thoughts.
"I don't know what's with him," Jacob shrugged. "He's been like that since he got home last night."
"He got home after us?" I asked casually.
"Yeah he was at Harry Clearwater's house."
"Oh," I tried not to sound too interested. At my house my mum rushed into a panic. I moaned at her soccer mum syndrome while Jacob laughed at her putting my hair in rollers. I was glad that conversation seemed to flow easily between them, both of them picking on the other. It gave me another small relief that I didn't even know I was worried about.
After mum had wrapped my whole head tightly in rollers she fed Jake and I homemade pizzas for lunch, which Jacob gulped down appreciatively.
"That was great," he complimented my mum, who beamed. It wasn't often she got to entertain guests. She was so oddly happy today it was putting me on edge. But I tried not to think about it. Having Jacob around was a great stress reliever before my night as Tyler's date. I cringed at the word date. It made me feel ill.
"Is Bella going tonight?" mum asked as she washed the dishes. I reached for a tea towel but Jacob beat me to it. He grinned at me slyly as my mum looked at him in a mixture of shock and awe. I could see right through both of them. They were trying so hard to impress each other.
"No mum. She's not into dances."
"Oh. That's too bad. She would have looked beautiful all done up I'm sure." I found myself watching Jacob's face too closely to reply and mum seemed to sense something and backed off the Bella subject. I was starting to thank my lucky stars I created such an amazing mum. I had to admit she did a pretty good job at whatever mothering she needed to do.
Jacob and I hung out for a little while longer as I waited for my hair rollers to set. We watched some mindless Saturday television in the lounge room while Jacob blabbered constantly. I didn't know how he found so much to talk about.
Soon mum told me that it was time to do my hair. "In the bathroom," she told me pointedly as I put my head back to where she could play with it while I sat with Jacob. I looked at Jacob who was already not paying attention and instead watching Monster Garage on the discovery channel. He was sprawled out across the couch with the remote in his hand, completely at home.
I went to follow mum at the stairs but as I passed the end of the couch I reached up and lightly ran my fingers through his hair. It was soft and silky. Jacob tilted his head back at smiled at me wildly. Upstairs mum when into overdrive and soon I felt like I was choking on hairspray and face powder. Though, I had to admit when I was looking at myself in the mirror after she was done, she had done a good job. My hair was pulled to one side of my head into a messy bun of curls and braids. My skin, which was usually splattered with a few freckles, was like porcelain with tiny puffs of red on the tops of my cheeks. My eyes were heavily bordered with thick black lashed. Mum helped me into my dress so that I didn't destroy my face.
"Tyler's here," I heard Jacob yell up the stairs and I giggled at the thought of them standing downstairs together. Tyler was probably wondering why Jacob was even here. I put on my shoes and grabbed the clutch mum handed me. She was beaming at her handy work.
"You look so beautiful," she gushed, her eyes looked wet.
"Oh mum, please." I begged. I had friends down stairs. The last thing that I needed was her to turn into a blubbering wreck. I quickly walked down the stairs. Jacob was sitting on the bottom of the stairs and Tyler was standing uncomfortably by the door. He was wearing a black button down shirt and long black pants. In his hand was a white rose. A felt a smile play on my lips. He really did go to a lot of effort. This wasn't even Prom.
Tyler saw me and his face went from the slight scorn he was looking at Jacob with into shock and then something close to elation. Jacob, noticing Tyler's change in expression turned and quickly stood up. His expression was something that I couldn't quite place and that made me stare at him. He smiled slowly as I reach the bottom stair. My high heels made me almost the same height as him and I savoured the moment for I knew I wouldn't be this close to his height for long.
"Wow," he said and for the first time ever I heard a slight waver in his voice.
"Do you like it?" I asked him, and I looked at Tyler as well, as I turned theatrically on the spot.
Tyler nodded enthusiastically, as if he hadn't found his voice yet, but my eyes kept roaming to Jacob who looked at me in awe. By this time my mum had followed me down the stairs. She looked from Jake to Tyler and smiled even more widely. I was glad to see she had at least got her emotions under control.
"Well, we better go," said Tyler, still looking at me wide eyed. I blushed slightly as I turned towards Jacob to say goodbye. I was surprised when he pulled me into a gentle hug. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. I could feel Tyler's glare on my back and when I looked at Jacob he was grinning at me smugly and then he glared back at Tyler. I shook my head at him, my look clearly saying that I didn't want to be a part of his games with Tyler. He shrugged slightly. For effect I reached forward and linked my arm around Tyler's. I let my hand rest softly on his forearm. I could feel Jacob's glare on my back. Tyler was grinning from ear to ear as we got in his car to go to the dance.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Tyler asked me as we got into the car. I laughed but even to me it sounded false. Was he my boyfriend? I didn't have much experience on these things but it felt to me like we were dancing on a knife's point. Both of us were waiting to see if the other would take the plunge.
"No. Jacob is just a friend." I told him and I tried to mask the slight disappointment I was feeling. I wished it was Jacob taking me to the dance.
"He's only, like, fifteen or something isn't he?" he didn't even try to keep the disapproval out of his voice.
"Is that a problem?" I asked him sharply.
"No to me," he shrugged, but he left the end of his sentence open. I suddenly didn't want to go to the dance anymore.
"What did you do today?" asked Tyler, trying his best to change the subject but I was still feeling bitter.
"I slept in at Jacob's and got home late so I really only got ready," I said, keeping my voice casual.
"You slept at his house?" Tyler asked I could feel him looking at me but I stared at the round. Now I was mad at Jacob for getting me to play along with his game. I sat fuming as we drove to Forks high.